The Spanish public transit operator Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) runs a metro system of nine lines and 150 stations. TMB’s metro and local bus lines carry over 550 million citizens, commuters and travellers across the Catalan capital and surrounds.
In recent years, TMB elected to update its analogue infrastructure, replacing older cameras and extending coverage to create a metro-wide IP video surveillance system.
The relationship between TMB and Sony dates back more than 15 years, when the operator installed its first 150 Sony cameras at several metropolitan bus depots to cover perimeters, parking areas, workshops and office spaces. Sony cameras were the choice for the recent upgrade to monitor train tracks, station platforms and other public areas. The cameras provide HD image resolution, a requirement for the project. Support for open protocols, including the ONVIF standard, offers integration with other security and monitoring systems.
By standardising on a small number of camera models, TMB has further simplified maintenance and reduced operating costs. TMB has so far installed 2,700 Sony IP network cameras across its network; more than 700 of them Sony SNC-EB630 box-type models. A custom housing protects the cameras from dust, dirt and physical tampering while allowing cleaning of the front lens window. The SNC-EB630 offers Full HD images with wide dynamic range, even in dim or harshly-lit areas the camera manufacturer says. Built-in image stabilisation gives crisp images, even when the camera is being shaken by mechanical vibration from nearby trains, according to the firm. In stations, harsh fluorescent lighting can be strongly reflected by platform surfaces, making identification of people and objects difficult. Here, Sony’s View-DR technology boosts the cameras’ dynamic range to accommodate a range of light levels in the same scene.
The cameras serves as a visual deterrent, and as a tool to identify and resolve incidents involving passengers and staff. Pictures can direct station staff and first-responders to help passengers requiring assistance in the event of accidents or personal injury.
Victor Ribera, Responsible of Telecommunication Systems in the Technology Area at Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona, says: “Apart from superb picture quality, a key factor for us in choosing Sony cameras is their dependability. Remote surveillance is extremely important for us. We have evolved from a complete decentralized surveillance system started at our garages and workshops to a fully centralized system – based on security control centers for the operation and management of all security cameras. Image quality has improved exponentially in a short time. Together with the functions incorporated into the cameras themselves, this has resulted in an increase in the security offered to our passengers.”
